Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Given New $59.00 Price Target at TD Cowen

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) had its target price upped by TD Cowen from $54.00 to $59.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,MarketScreener reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Erste Group Bank raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Phillip Securities lowered Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Baird R W lowered Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.38.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE BAC opened at $50.63 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $374.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $49.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80. Bank of America has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $52.88.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bank of America will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 32.75%.

Bank of America declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 4.4% during the second quarter. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 5,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 4.1% during the second quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 5,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 1.0% during the second quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 0.8% during the second quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 28,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,344,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 48.7% during the second quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC now owns 681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Company Profile

Bank of America Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments worldwide. It operates in four segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, and Global Markets.